


No Sign From Above

by Inkyrius



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Despair Disease (Dangan Ronpa), F/F, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-04
Packaged: 2019-01-17 18:37:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12371670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkyrius/pseuds/Inkyrius
Summary: Chiaki takes care of Sonia when Despair Disease has her crumbling. Sonia hopes she can repay the favor.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [graveExcitement (arachnids)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arachnids/gifts).



Being sick had to be terrible. Chiaki had never really thought about it, except in games where it was a status effect. It wasn’t like the Future Foundation had bothered to put any diseases into the simulation. But as always, Monokuma had ruined everything, and now Chiaki was quarantined in a hospital with three sick students and wondering if she would get to experience the wonders of illness for herself.

At least being with the sick students would help her prevent a murder. If this Despair Disease was the next motive, it seemed likely that one of the infected would be either the victim or the blackened. She would keep an eye out and hopefully intervene if things got violent.

That was the plan, at least. It was derailed after only an hour, when Mikan coopted her to take care of Sonia. “S-sorry to be a bother,” Mikan said. “It’s just that the others are taking most of my attention, and, um, my presence just seems to be making things worse.”

“It’s okay,” Chiaki said. “I’m happy to help.”

She stood by that sentiment, and it wasn’t like she objected to getting to spend time with Sonia, but there were a few things that she’d failed to take into account. Most pertinent was the fact that Sonia was afflicted with Paranoia Disease. Chiaki could see that Mikan would feed into that far too easily, but it also made even taking Sonia’s temperature an exercise in diplomacy and patience. Chiaki had the patience to unlock even the most stubborn of secret endings, but she wouldn’t exactly call herself a master of interpersonal relations.

So she did what she always did when she didn’t know how to approach a problem: she thought about what she’d do if this was a video game. She’d encountered the trope of a scared animal you had to befriend hundreds of times before. Not that Sonia was an animal, but it seemed like the same principles might apply.

Step one was usually to give it food. Of course, they had met up for breakfast an hour ago, but with all the excitement Chiaki didn’t know if Sonia had actually gotten to eat anything. She ran over to the hotel to put together a brunch, taking care to reassure Monokuma that it was for Sonia and that she wasn’t going to break the hospital rules.

Equipped with the tray, she was ready to start her mission in earnest. She opened the door to Sonia’s room as gently as she could without dropping everything. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”

Sonia screamed. “Stay back! Though I do not have my bodyguards with me at the moment, rest assured, if I were to die my parents would surely hunt you down!”

Chiaki bit her lip. She’d known this wasn’t going to be easy, but she’d barely even set foot in the room. She didn’t know how she was supposed to give Sonia the food if she couldn’t get close to her. “Don’t worry,” she said. “No one’s trying to kill you. If they were, I’d stop them.”

“So you say.” Sonia crossed her arms, but her expression was still drawn and nervous. “Perhaps you are simply the distraction to give your coconspirators a chance to strike.” She looked around wildly, as if someone was about to burst through the window wielding an axe.

“Hmmm…” Chiaki thought about how to make this less painful for them both. “What if I stay over here, and you can keep an eye out for potential threats?” It still wasn’t ideal, but it was something.

Sonia narrowed her eyes. Chiaki did her best to project innocence and trustworthiness. “Very well,” Sonia said. She uncrossed her arms and seemed to relax for an instance, then suddenly leaned forward again. “How are my parents? What if they’ve died of grief because they haven’t heard from me? What if their deaths plunged the entire country into mourning, bringing the economy to a halt? What if my people have starved to death because of me?”

“I’m… pretty sure that hasn’t happened,” Chiaki said. Not that she thought the truth would be any better. She decided to change the subject. “Anyway, I brought you food. Are you hungry?”

“Not for anything you give me. You probably poisoned it.” Sonia tried to look disdainful, but mostly just looked scared.

“It’s perfectly safe, I promise.” Chiaki held out the tray in the hope that seeing food would remind Sonia that she was hungry.

It seemed to work, as Sonia pursed her lips and looked away. “In that case, why don’t you eat some?”

“I can’t,” Chiaki said hastily. Thankfully, Monokuma didn’t show up to chastise them. “It’s against the rules.”

“You did poison it!” Sonia shrank under the covers. “Your shows of compassion were most convincing, but I see right through you. You’re trying to kill me!”

Chiaki sighed. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. Really, she should probably just accept that the disease had taken over, but she hated seeing Sonia like this. She was normally so resilient and regal, and for her to be reduced to cowering in bed made Chiaki’s heart ache. “I just want to help you get better,” she said, as much to herself as anything.

“I suppose I do feel rather ill…” Sonia said. She gasped. “Do I have some hideous tropical disease? Am I going to turn bright purple and have all my hair fall out?”

“No,” Chiaki said, though she wouldn’t put it past Monokuma. “It’s just making you more afraid than usual.”

“Ha!” Sonia didn’t actually laugh, she just said the word ‘ha’ sharply. Chiaki couldn’t help but think that she’d been spending too much time around Gundham. “Clearly you don’t know anything about the life of a princess. I have every reason to be afraid.”

“Maybe,” Chiaki said noncommittally. “But you do have a fever, and you said yourself you weren’t feeling well. If you like, we can talk about it when you’re better.”

“A likely story. You’re just trying to distract me while my nervous system shuts down, aren’t you?” Sonia turned away in a huff, only to turn back a moment later. “Unless you want me to face the window, to provide a better target for the snipers.”

Chiaki couldn’t quite suppress a sigh. As much as she admired Sonia, she was about ready to be done with this. She could only hope they found a cure for the Despair Disease soon. At this rate, she was going to spend the rest of the simulation sitting in the doorway trying to convince Sonia that she was safe.


	2. Chapter 2

The evening after a trial was always the worst, and Sonia hated that she had the experience to say that. It was just hard, that period where the horrors of the day had begun to sink in and no one was ready to try and talk about it or move on.

Sonia was no exception. As much as she liked being able to think clearly again, unhindered by the Paranoia Disease, she couldn’t feel good about it. She’d much rather have her friends back. Since that was impossible, the next best thing would have been to collapse into bed and try to forget everything.

But she was a princess. She had a duty to her people, whether they were her subjects or her friends. And more than that, they were her friends, and she wanted to help them.

At that moment, there was one person in particular she thought could use her help. Chiaki had taken the murder even harder than everyone else. She’d assigned herself the task of preventing any more senseless deaths, and she’d just failed yet again. She hadn’t even noticed anything had been amiss.

Chiaki had taken care of Sonia when she hadn’t been able to think straight. Sonia hoped to be able to do the same for Chiaki now. And if she had any ulterior motives, now wasn’t the time to think about them.

She knocked on Chiaki’s door as best she could while balancing a tray of food on her other hand. She wasn’t sure if Chiaki had had supper yet, and she thought that the reversal of roles might give them something to talk about other than murder.

She heard a shuffling, and then the door swung open to reveal Chiaki, her eyes dull and unfocused. Sonia couldn’t help but wince at the sight. Chiaki could seem spacey at times, but there was always a spark of passion in her eyes, whether it was directed towards her games or her friends. Now that light was gone, and she just looked lost. Sonia couldn’t help but feel that she was intruding on something private.

Not that she was going to admit defeat just yet. This just made her more determined to support Chiaki. She gave her best princess smile. “I brought you supper!”

Chiaki nodded slowly. “Thank you.” She made no effort to move, either to take the tray or to close the door.

Now Sonia was even more concerned, but she hid it under her mask of cheer. She didn’t want to make Chiaki feel bad for feeling bad. “May I come in?” she asked.

Chiaki blinked, and Sonia finally got the sense that she was looking at her instead of through her. That was a start. “Okay,” Chiaki said. She stepped aside to let Sonia past.

Sonia had never thought much about what Chiaki’s cottage would look like, any fantasies she might or might not have had taking place on the beach or off the island altogether. The reality outdid any expectations she might have had anyway. The floor was strewn with consoles and controllers, and Sonia had to watch her step to navigate them. There was even an arcade machine in the corner, which raised a number of questions about where it came from and how something so bulky got through the door.

Now wasn’t really the time to ask them, though. Chiaki had stopped in front of her bed and was back to staring blankly into space. Sonia set the tray down on the floor and thought about the best way to pull Chiaki out of her own head. “Thank you for taking care of me these past few days,” she said at last. “I do not remember much, but I know I cannot have been easy to manage.”

Chiaki smiled weakly. “You were fine. I mostly just sat and talked with you.” She paused. “When you weren’t accusing me of trying to kill you, anyway.”

Sonia sucked in a breath. “I am sorry about that. I know you would never do anything of the sort.”

“No, it’s fine,” Chiaki said. “I know you weren’t yourself.”

Silence fell once again. Sonia hoped Chiaki was simply gathering her thoughts once again, but as the silence stretched on, it became clear that she had fallen back into her misery. Sonia decided that she would have to broach the forbidden topic after all. She hoped Chiaki wouldn’t mind too terribly. “But I was the one who kept you occupied. Had it not been for me, you might have noticed that something was amiss, and perhaps the murder could have been prevented.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works…” It was the most emphatic Sonia had heard Chiaki since the trial, which was a good sign. “You had no way of knowing that something would happen, right? And you didn’t choose to get sick. It was just bad timing, I think.”

Sonia smiled gently. That was exactly the opening she’d been hoping for. “Precisely,” she said. “You had no way of knowing, either. You were taking care of a sick friend, which is a most admirable thing to do. What happened while you were doing so is not your fault.”

“I know.” Chiaki sighed, but she looked slightly less despondent. “It’s still hard to believe, but you saying it helps. Thank you.”

“Of course!” Chiaki didn’t know it, but there was very little Sonia wouldn’t do if she thought it would help her.

For that matter, now that she’d gotten a chance to talk to her one-on-one like this, Sonia found she didn’t really want to leave. And Chiaki wasn’t smiling yet, not really, so staying to cheer her up was just what a good friend would do. She cast about for an excuse to stay. She found exactly what she needed scattered across the cottage floor. “Now then,” she said, “I believe I need to stop thinking about this for a little while. Would you be willing to play a game with me?”

Chiaki perked up at the thought. “Yeah, that would be nice. What do you want to play?”

Sonia didn’t exactly get many chances to play video games, and she found herself at a loss. “I don’t know,” she said. “I will just have to trust your judgment.”

Chiaki hummed thoughtfully before crouching to rummage under her bed. A few moments later, she straightened back up, holding a game box triumphantly. “Aha! This should be good, I think.”

Sonia didn’t recognize the box at all, but she didn’t care. All that mattered was that Chiaki was beginning to smile again.

Unsurprisingly, Chiaki had managed to find a game that both of them could enjoy. It was cooperative rather than competitive, and while Sonia had to keep asking for help with the controls (in no small part because she enjoyed having Chiaki lean over her to explain them), Chiaki was more than good enough to carry the both of them. Sonia was almost tempted to sit back and watch. There was something almost hypnotic about watching her carry out the more complicated maneuvers.

The nighttime announcement came as a shock to both of them. Chiaki’s food still sat in the corner, untouched, and they were in the middle of a round. When they reached the goal, Sonia stood up, setting her controller on the floor. “Thank you very much for that! I had a great deal of fun.” she said. She shifted her weight, delaying leaving for just a little longer. “I will see you tomorrow morning, then?”

Chiaki stood up, but didn’t say anything at first, looking at Sonia thoughtfully. Just when Sonia was beginning to feel uncomfortable, Chiaki asked, “May I kiss you?”

Sonia made a most unprincesslike noise of surprise. She tried to respond, but diplomacy had deserted her when she needed it most. “What?” she finally asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Chiaki looked at the floor. “Did I read the mood wrong? This is why I’m no good at dating sims.”

“No!” Sonia would have hated for Chiaki to think she wasn’t interested. “It was just rather sudden. If you are interested, I would very much like to give it a try.”

“Oh, good.” Finally, Chiaki smiled. It was so bright and beautiful, and it was entirely for her. Sonia felt her heart fluttering madly.

She wasn’t expecting Chiaki to lean up and chastely kiss her cheek. It was an affectionate gesture, though, and so very Chiaki that Sonia couldn’t quite suppress a giggle.

Chiaki pulled away, pouting. “Did I do it wrong?” she asked.

Sonia tried to get herself under control, but it was hard when Chiaki was making such an adorable face at her. “No, no,” she said. “That was perfect.”


End file.
